Asa Jay's weblog

Last Thursday, our instructor for my Research and Writing course, at Whitworth, was absent due to sickness.  She had setup an on line collaboration session so she could still teach class while having us students log in for anywhere we needed.  Knowing that some students might not see the message prior to class, I volunteered to go to the classroom and help facilitate the computer connection for those who might show up.  It turns out that was a good idea, though I had no clue what I was about to get myself into.

I all started out innocently enough as I arrived.  We managed to get the class computer going and hooked up to the lecture session.  All we needed now was for our instructor to join in from home.  She had a hard time connecting.  After a couple of phone calls and working through the login and application problems, she finally gave up.  Since I had kind of taken over facilitation of the group, she asked if I could help by directing a couple of class activities.  This is where I fell apart.

Out of the 11 people, we had seven in class that night, and no instructor.  The on line lecture hall would not allow anyone outside the college to connect, and there was no facility for a speaker-phone.  I was it, so I started out with some simple work-shopping of assigned essays, starting with my own.  That was a pretty good start, as I had tried to keep to our method of claim, examples, counterargument and rebuttal.  For many students, the current essay  seemed difficult, but after reading mine, some of them started to feel much more comfortable.  We moved on to other student essays that we could work-shop and provide valuable feedback.  Later, we needed to get into more of our directed class session.

Our instructor had wanted us to discuss more “counterarguments”, or at least the concept of it.  She also asked if we could try to divide up and try an exercise with one group coming up with an argument, the other group counter arguing, and then the first group rebutting.  This is where I really fell down, and admit I’m not a good English teacher.  I had trouble in really answering some of the questions that came up.  I know that our instructor would have had no difficulty with them, but for me, it was hard to try and get them across.  Even though I might know a bit about the subject and felt comfortable in my own level of knowledge, I just felt naked up there in front of everyone as I tried to help them understand what I knew.

I’ve had no illusions that I might be better than our instructor.  I’ve tried to participate in the class as much as I can given the time I have available.  I’ve also looked to our instructor for guidance in my writing for class.  I know I need to work on my form and my style.  I can’t simply keep letting things fly out of my fingers on to the page without giving it some thought.  She has been a good resource, and this class is something I’ve needed.  I do enjoy trying to help the other students when I think I’ve got a handle on a concept they need help with, but I’m no substitute for the great gal we have in there now.  I hope she gets better, because we really need her.  I’m not ready to take anyones place.

Asa Jay

Sam has been home now for a week. His little bum is still a bit sore and he’s been fighting a persistent rash.  Shelley has been trying to take care of it and it’s starting to heal.  He’s eating well, but seems to have picked up a slight cold.

Last night he was very tired after having not slept very much the last couple of days.  I think he’s doing much better today after a good night of sleep.  So far, his surgery is causing him no problems, outside of the rash.  In the next day or so, we’ll be able to remove the dressing on his belly where the surgeons had to go into his abdomen.  I’m sure this will make him feel a little better. . . once the pain of removing it wears off.  🙂

We’ve received many cards and flowers from a whole lot of people.  We wish to thank all of them and have been doing so individually.  We are thankful for the blessings of having Sam with us, and for the blessings of all our friends who have prayed and kept in touch with us.

Thanks,
Asa Jay

Sam was found to have a rare condition called “Hirschsprungs Disease”, a condition of the colon which prevents passing of stool.  The condition was named after the pediatrician who discovered it.  Sam’s case was not considered too severe, and was discovered very early, when he was born.

Within 12 hours of being born, Sam was no longer interested in breast feeding, which we thought was unusual.  Later in the day, as mom was recovering from an emergency C-section, I found Sam was throwing up a little.  Normally, a child of this age would be expected to “spit up” a little, but this was bright green, I mean almost flourecent.  Unless mom was some kind of alien, giving him green milk through her breast, something was terribly wrong.  I called the nursing staff.

They knew something was wrong too, no child should be spitting up bright green.  They told me it was bile from his stomach, but why?  The only way to find out was to take him back into the nursery and call for the doctor.

The doctor visited us some hours later, telling us she had called for a specialist.  She had a suspicion, but she needed the specialist to confirm it.  That night, sometime around midnight, we were awakened by both the doctor and the specialist, who was a pediatric surgeon.  We were told Sam had Hirschsrprungs disease, and had been taken to the pediatric ICU.  As you might imagine, we were very concerned.

Over the next couple of days, the nurses in the ICU worked on cleaning him out using saline enemas.  They cut off all food and drink by mouth.  Meanwhile, the surgeon was performing quick biopsies to confirm her suspicion.  Days later, Same went in for a pull-through procedure.  This was done entirely through his rectum, took out about seven inches of affected colon, and looked to be successful.  Unfortunately, a frozen biopsy, done after the surgery, showed she had not managed to remove all the affected colon.  She was not pleased, because the initial biopsy results were good, and these later results reversed the finding.  She decided to let it go and see how well Sam did.

Sam did fine for two years.  But in the last couple months, he has become much more bloated, and had started puking on a regular basis.  I had my suspicions, and so it was back to the surgeon who confirmed with x-rays, Sam needed more surgery.  We admitted him to the Hospital on the 15th of January, 2006. he underwent additional abdominal surgery to remove another six to seven inches of affected colon.  Now, he is in recovery, and doing very well.  Yesterday, he finally got to lose the catheter and the last IV tube.  I anticipate the doctor will let him come home today or tomorrow.

This time, the surgeon is very sure she removed the affected region; she had frozen biopsies done which are the most accurate.  She was inside his belly, so she could accurately access and see everything she needed.  She had a crack staff of other surgeons verifying her work.  And at this point, Sam seems to be passing juices a lot better than he was a couple weeks ago.  Things are looking up for him.  The best part is, he hasn’t had to have a colostomy at all.  That alone has provided a lot of relief for both mom and dad.

There you have it.  It’s been a rough road, but Sam is going to be alright.

Asa Jay

It’s a noisy evening in the hospital. A baby cries like a forgotten lion cub in the distance. A cleaning man is seen travelling the hallways, washing and drying the floors in what looks like a miniature Zamboni. In Sam’s room, the sweat begins to bead on his forehead as the nurses come in.

Sam is only two and a half years old. He has come here, as if having been kidnapped by his parents, for reasons he doesn’t understand. He has not seen home in over five days. To him, home must seem like a dream, and he has finally awaken to the reality that is life.

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I recently installed SUSE Linux 10.0 on my notebook computer and after using it for a day, I’m not sure it’s really better than previous versions for user customization. I have not installed a version SUSE Linux since before it was acquired by Novell. The last real lnstall I did was SUSE 8.2 on a home and work machine.

SUSE 8.2 was fantastic in it’s ease with which I could change things, like the GRUB boot screen or the KDM login screen. It looked decidedly Linux and was a far cry from Windows; a welcome difference from Windows. It was only a couple years ago, that Novell purchased SUSE Linux and has been working on it themselves. Now, with the latest version, 10.0, I find myself looking at screens closer to Windows, than Linux.

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